Justification:Microlipophrys dalmatinus is a very shallow-water species and is known primarily from the Mediterranean Sea, with a single record from southwest Portugal. The wide distribution of M. dalmatinus is fragmented, but this is likely a sampling artifact. Although there are no data on the population size or status of M. dalmatinus, there are no known major threats to this species. Therefore, M. dalmatinus is assessed as Least Concern.

Microlipophrys dalmatinus is known from throughout the Mediterranean Sea, except for the southeast (Golani et al. 2006), and off Portugal (Zander 1986, Carneiro et al. 2014). It is widespread in Slovenian waters, in the northern Adriatic Sea (Orlando-Bonaca and Lipej 2007), and has recently been recorded from Malta (Bilecenoglu et al. 2013). The fragmented distribution of M. dalmatinus may be a sampling artifact, as it is not a commercial species and it is difficult to study. It is typically found at depths of less than 1.5 m (Zander 1986) but has been collected to 4.4 m depth (Orlando-Bonaca and Lipej 2007).

Microlipophrys dalmatinus lives in shallow rocky areas, on filamentous algae-covered rocks in brackish water, in crevices, in mollusc and crustacean shells, and in holes. It appears to be relatively indiscriminate in its microhabitat utilization (Orlando-Bonaca and Lipej 2007). It is found to 4.4 m depth (Orlando-Bonaca and Lipej 2007). This species is predominantly active during sunlight, otherwise it can be found in piddock holes or barnacle shells (Zander 1986). It feeds on benthic meiofauna, especially harpacticoids, and also on algae (Zander 1986). The maximum recorded size of M. dalmatinus is 4.1 cm (Zander 1986).

No specific conservation measures are in place or required for this species. However, this species is found in marine protected areas within its distribution range. Microlipophrys dalmatinus was previously listed as Data Deficient, both globally and in the Mediterranean, as the extent of occurrence and population status were not known (Abdul Malak et al. 2011, IUCN 2011).